PM1C-Introduction to Professionalism and Practice
Module Provider: Pharmacy
Number of credits: 20 [10 ECTS credits]
Level:4
Terms in which taught: Autumn / Spring / Summer module
Pre-requisites:
Non-modular pre-requisites:
Co-requisites: PM1A Fundamentals of Physiology and PM1B Medicines Discovery, Design, Development and Delivery
Modules excluded:
Current from: 2022/3
Module Convenor: Dr Hisham Al-Obaidi
Email: h.al-obaidi@reading.ac.uk
Type of module:
Summary module description:
This module acts as the introduction to the MPharm programme, supporting students as they adapt to University study and introducing them to the role of pharmacists in healthcare and concepts of professional practice. The roles of other pharmacy staff and the wider team of healthcare professionals, and the importance of multidisciplinary working are highlighted. The pharmacy-related legal, regulatory and organisational frameworks and landscapes are introduced, as are the concepts of medicines optimisation and clinical governance. Patient-centred care is identified as a core aspect of pharmacy, and students will start to develop their communication and consultation skills, with an introduction to responding to minor ailments and a particular focus on advising patients on use of non-prescription and prescription-only medicines. Social and behavioural aspects of pharmacy are introduced, relating how these factors can impact on the health and wellbeing of a community. The concept of pharmacists as lifelong learners is considered with the use of reflective practice to inform future learning objectives and the continuation of professional development. This module is fully integrated with PM1B (Medicines Discovery, Design, Development and Delivery) with key topics and themes overlapping in workshops and assessments.
Aims:
- To provide students with an introduction to the professional awareness, attributes and knowledge required of a practising pharmacist.
- For students to understand how different pharmacy related disciplines are linked and integrated and their relevance to professional practice.
Assessable learning outcomes:
By the end of this module, students will be expected to be able to:
- Outline the roles that pharmacists may undertake in community and hospital pharmacy
- Describe the role of the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) in the regulation of pharmacies, pharmacists and pharmacy technicians
- Explain what it means to be a professional and the requirements associated with this in relation to pharmacy
- Describe the different roles within a Pharmacy team, their training requirements and responsibilities in supporting patient care
- Describe the roles of other healthcare professionals, their training requirements and responsibilities in supporting patient care
- Explain how pharmacy teams can work with other healthcare professionals to optimise patient care
- Describe the structure and function of the NHS
- Explain the structure and function of the Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework
- Outline the pharmacy services included in the community pharmacy contracts in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland
- Describe the main principles of clinical governance and the need to maintain and improve standards to optimise patient care (e.g. error reporting)
- Explain what Standard Operating Procedures are, their place in practice and how they support clinical governance in a pharmacy setting, to ensure high quality pharmacy services and patient safety
- Define “medicines errors” and “medicines safety” and explain how the risk of errors can be minimised
- Describe aspects of legislation and health policy relating to Pharmacy
- Describe the legal classification of medicines and the requirements associated with POM, P and GSL medicines
- Explain the different NHS prescription types presented in a community pharmacy and their associated legal requirements
- Outline the legal requirements for labelling dispensed items in a community and hospital pharmacy setting.
- Define the term “medicines optimisation” and describe its key principles
- Describe the concept of “patient centred care” and explain how pharmacists can contribute to this and support adherence.
- Describe the relationship between social factors and health and wellbeing.
- Describe the biomedical and bio-psycho-social models of health and disease.
- Describe the components of, and barriers to, effective communication.
- Describe the principles of an effective consultation and demonstrate good consultation skills in scenarios relating to patients prescribed a new medicine.
- Describe the principles associated with Responding to Minor Ailments and over the counter prescribing.
- Demonstrate the ability to use pharmaceutical calculations.
- Describe how the flow of work around a pharmacy dispensary (hospital and community) is managed to optimise efficiency and minimise risk (to patients and staff).
- Define “pharmacy ethics” and use the GPhC Standards for Pharmacy Professionals to discuss the relevance of ethics in pharmacy practice.
- Describe the most commonly used routes of drug administration and their advantages and disadvantages.
- Describe continuing professional development and explain its importance.
- Define the term “adverse drug reaction” and explain the pharmacist’s role in managing them.
- Explain the purpose of the Drug Tariff and utilise it when processing health (NHS) prescriptions (in particular, Part VIIIA (Basic Prices of Drugs), Part XVIIA (Dental Prescribing), Part XVIIBi (Nurse Prescribers’ Formulary) and Part XVIIIA (The “Blacklist”).
Additional outcomes:
During the course of this module, students will:
- Develop professional behaviours and learn to demonstrate these in accordance with the GPhC Standards for Pharmacy Professionals
- Develop independent study and problem solving skills
- Develop an ability to work effectively on their own and as part of a team
- Develop understanding of the increasing importance of leadership and people management in a pharmacy context
- Develop knowledge and understanding of the importance of people and teams in driving performance
- Develop appropriate communication and consultation skills including suitable questioning and explaining techniques.
- Learn about the professional practices of RSoP staff
- Develop reflective practice and use this to identify further areas of development
- Develop communication and time management skills
- Develop their ability to critically appraise information
- Develop a range of IT skills and expertise in information retrieval in relation to primary and secondary information sources, including information retrieval through on-line computer searches
Outline content:
- Introduction to the role of the pharmacist & professionalism
- The role of the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) in the regulation of pharmacy, ensuring fitness to practice and promoting patient safety (including the GPhC Standards for Pharmacy Professionals)
- Introduction to the Personal & Academic Development Portfolio, Continuing Professional Development and the portfolio research skills exercise
- Pharmacy and other healthcare staff, their training and regulation and role in patient care
- Introduction to the NHS and related legislation
- Introduction to community and hospital pharmacy
- Introduction to clinical governance
- Introduction to medicines safety
- Introduction to pharmacy law and ethics
- Information Governance, EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) & Freedom of Information Act
- Legal classification of medicines
- Introduction to prescriptions & medicines optimisation, including identifying adverse drug reactions (linked to PM1B)
- Routes of drug administration
- Introduction to labelling requirements and supplying medicines on prescription, including use of the British National Formulary and The Drug Tariff (linked to PM1B)
- Patient centred care: Communication/consultation skills & supporting adherence
- Clinical skills in community pharmacy – introduction to responding to minor ailments including skin conditions, pain & musculoskeletal conditions, respiratory conditions, diseases affecting the eye, ear and nose, gastrointestinal conditions, child health and women’s health.
- Introduction to Management and Organisations
Brief description of teaching and learning methods:
The course content will be delivered through a range of teaching methods including lectures, workshops and practicals. Students will be signposted to additional resources to supplement the lecture material. Attendance to all teaching sessions is required and poor attendance will be recorded in the student’s personal file. Students failing to complete and engage in pharmacy visits, placements and interprofessional education sessions will not be permitted to complete the programme.
| Autumn | Spring | Summer | |
| Lectures | 22 | 23 | |
| Tutorials | 2 | 2 | |
| Practicals classes and workshops | 20 | 10 | |
| Work-based learning | 1 | 3 | |
| Guided independent study: | |||
| Wider reading (independent) | 28 | 26 | |
| Exam revision/preparation | 10 | 20 | 33 |
| Total hours by term | 81 | 84 | 35 |
| Total hours for module | 200 |
| Method | Percentage |
| Written exam | 100 |
Summative assessment- Examinations:
There will be one end of year final written examination consisting of multiple choice questions and short/long questions. Total length of final written examination is 3 hours.
The examination for this module will require a narrowly defined time window and is likely to be held in a dedicated exam venue.
Summative assessment- Coursework and in-class tests:
Formative assessment methods:
Students will be encouraged to reflect on their own achievements throughout the MPharm course; the Personal & Academic Development Portfolio can be used to facilitate this. Communication skills and responding to symptoms will be assessed through formative assessment. Formative assessment and feedback will be provided through workshop classes and on-line assessments
Penalties for late submission:
The Support Centres will apply the following penalties for work submitted late:
- where the piece of work is submitted after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each working day (or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of five working days;
- where the piece of work is submitted more than five working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): a mark of zero will be recorded.
You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.
Assessment requirements for a pass:
In order to pass the module, students will be required to achieve a mark of 40% in the final examination.
Reassessment arrangements:
Reassessment of the written exam is by re-examination in August only, with a mark of 40%.
Additional Costs (specified where applicable):
- Required text books: The University library has a large number of text books and specialised reading material. There are also an excellent number of e-books available to the students. There might be core text books, which the students wish to purchase at varying costs.
- Specialist equipment or materials: None
- Specialist clothing, footwear or headgear: None
- Printing and binding: For portfolios. On average around 100 pages. Currently library costs for printing are 5p a sheet (black &white). A simple ring binder can be purchased from stationers for around £3.50)
- Computers and devices with a particular specification: None
- Travel, accommodation and subsistence: Students will need to travel to complete their period of learning in practice (2 half days).
Last updated: 22 September 2022
THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS MODULE DESCRIPTION DOES NOT FORM ANY PART OF A STUDENT'S CONTRACT.